BluWater Bistro (by default)

Prologue: Apparently I didn't do my research on this one. It was an easy pick. In fact, I usually wait until Wednesday to make my HH decision but this time it was so simple that I chose on Monday. We would go to the Waterfront Seafood and Bar on Pier 70. It was destined to be a top five choice as their patio is awesome and right on the waterfront and the sun was said to be shining bright at 70+ degrees. No brainer, right? Wrong! Sarkis and I cabbed down a bit before 4:00 to scope a place for our pals and were told by the hostess that the patio wouldn't be open until June sometime. What?! We quickly began texting, facebooking, and calling our friends to warn them not to meet us there. We would choose another venue with a patio as this is where we (okay, I) thought we needed to be on such a sunny, warm day.

Which brought us to: My last-minute decision of BluWater Bistro. Not nearly the same quality or ambience as the Waterfront but it fit the bill. Luckily a friend was enroute to Seattle and was able to grab us a table on the patio in the sun. Thanks Jaclyn! Sarkis and I eventually joined her after our second cab ride of the afternoon. We quickly opened our menus and were a bit unhappy right off the bat at the miniscule selection of Happy Hour Drinks. I opted for a margarita (not on Happy Hour) and Sarkis and Dempsey had one too. Even though they were not very good, I still managed to have two more of them before the night was over. Most of the boys began drinking beer as it was only $3. One good thing is that all of the appetizers are priced half-off. We ordered sliders, Jamaican Jerk chicken satay, sauteed shrimp, and calamari during our first round. I can honestly say that I tried all of these and thought they were all very good. The sliders especially - as they didn't try to do too much to them. Simple and good. Later, another friend ordered the clams in white wine and garlic and they were excellent!

BluWater has a pretty substantial patio next to Lake Union. It's nothing fancy, and the chairs and tables are plastic and a bit flimsy. It was a pretty happening spot when we got there and only seemed to fill up more and more as time passed. There is an outdoor tiki-looking bar that was packed with people and looked pretty fun to sit at. We, however, were in the Kid-zone. At times it felt like we were at Chuck-E-Cheez as there were gobs of kids running around while their parents enjoyed happy hour on the patio. We were sitting right next to a fence that separated the patio from a children's playground so this basically put us IN the line of fire. Children would run behind our chairs, jump onto the fence inches away from where we were sitting, and hop over to the play area. Again and again.

As the sun began to set, it got a bit chilly and we asked our waitress to turn the outdoor heater on that was near us. I warned the children not to touch the heater since it was hot and this deterred them from jumping over the ledge again. Mission accomplished. And, soon, so was our Happy Hour mission at BluWater. All in all, a great patio with and interesting crowd, and only so-so food and drinks.

Since we were already at Lake Union, we decided to stumble on down to where else? Joeys! We had a couple of food items there as well. The gyoza is always a favorite at Joey's and it didn't disappoint on this trip. Our drinks tasted like they were crafted with care. We ordered manhattans, vodka sodas, wine, and Bobby and Jaclyn settled on coffee and an apple pie dessert with caramel ice cream. They said it was the best they've ever tasted.

What started out as an Elliott Bay Happy Hour Revolution quickly turned into HHR at the Lake. In the end, it doesn't matter where you are as long as it's Happy Hour and you're with your friends. Good times.


BluWater Bistro Happy Hour
1/2 off all appetizers
Sliders, sauteed shrimp,
calamari, Jamaican jerk chicken satay,
crab rangoons, baked artichoke dip,
wild salmon, clams: all of these are between $5 and $7.

drinks:

Beers $3

Wine (3 house wines) $4